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accustomed articles for his establishment, either accord¬ 
ing to arrangements made among themselves, or in 
obedience to his requisitions. The superior and subor¬ 
dinate rulers over the people, endeavoured to preserve 
the peace of society, and promote the public welfare, by 
punishing offenders according to the nature of their 
crimes, but without any regular or uniform procedure. 
The only punishment inflicted was banishment, and, in a 
few instances, seizure for theft. It was, however, evident 
that another system must be introduced, instead of that 
which, with the tabu idolatry, had been abolished. 
It is a fact worthy of note, that although no people in 
the world could be more vicious than they were prior to 
their renunciation of paganism, yet such was the moral 
influence of the precepts of Christianity on the commu¬ 
nity at large, and consequently on the conduct of many 
who were Christians only by profession, that for some 
time crimes affecting the peace of society were but few. 
Theft, to which ever since their discovery they have been 
proverbially addicted, was rarely committed. It was not, 
however, to be expected that this state of things would be 
permanent; and after a few years, the force of example, 
and the restraining influence of the preceptive parts of 
Christian truth, began to diminish on the minds of those 
over whom it had exerted no decisive power, and who, 
in their altered behaviour, had rather followed popular 
sentiment and practice, than acted from principles in 
their own minds. When therefore this class of persons 
began to act more according to their true character, the 
chiefs found it necessary to visit their delinquency with 
punishment; and the welfare of the nation required that 
measures should be adopted for maintaining the order 
and peace of the community. 
